Customer satisfaction is bottom line in utility deal

The complexities of a proposed $9.1 billion transaction in which Wisconsin Energy Corp. is expected to acquire Integrys Energy Group Inc. will be lost on all but the most seasoned investors and utility analysts.

But it’s a big deal for all of us who use energy.

The resulting WEC Energy Group Inc. will serve more than 4.3 million gas and electric customers in Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota by the summer of 2015 if the acquisition meets a bevy of regulatory hurdles. It also will operate 71,000 miles of electric distribution lines and more than 44,000 miles of gas transmission lines in the four-state area.

Most of its eastern Wisconsin customers — including those in Manitowoc and Two Rivers — are served by We Energies or Wisconsin Public Service Corp, subsidiaries of Wisconsin Energy and Integrys, respectively.

The acquisition will, in a word, create a $16.8 billion behemoth with more than 9,000 employees. WEC Energy Group is likely to become another Fortune 500 company in Wisconsin and the eighth-largest natural gas distribution system in the United States.

The real bottom line, as in any business, is customer satisfaction.

Gov. Scott Walker called the deal “good news for two great Wisconsin companies. This purchase will strengthen Wisconsin Energy overall and result in better service for their local ratepayers.”

It will take some time — perhaps years — to gauge that, although company leaders are saying all the right things in that regard.

We Energies Vice President Rick White said its customers won’t see much of a difference on their bills or in their service.

“We’re not planning to merge any of those utilities, so the same level of customer service personnel that are on the spot now, the same line-in personnel, they’ll still be providing that same great customer service, so there will be very little if any change at all,” he said.

We hope that is the case. There are no guarantees. Becoming bigger does not always translate into becoming better. Economists have argued about the relative merits of huge mergers like AOL-Time Warner-CNN, Kmart and Sears, the airline industry, and the department store industry.

Some have said that Toyota’s problems came from attempting to become too large, resulting in mismanagement of the company.

That “great fit” in large mergers or acquisitions isn’t always the case. There can be differences in philosophy, company culture, capital needs and management capabilities, among many other factors.

We trust that WEC Energy Group leaders did their homework before proposing this massive transaction that will affect so many shareholders and customers. The most successful businesses thrive by assuming — at the proper time — just the right amount of risk.

Company leaders say that time is now for WEC Energy. We will share in that enthusiasm only if customers continue to receive the reliable energy services, at reasonable prices, that they have come to enjoy under the present organization.

Anything less would be a betrayal of the very customers and shareholders who helped grow the company and its subsidiaries in the first place.